Report: Monsanto nearly left St. Louis in an effort to avoid corporate taxes

Report: Monsanto nearly left St. Louis in an effort to avoid corporate taxes

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) (George Sells) — Monsanto is one of St. Louis’ largest companies, and according to a national financial publication, it nearly pulled up stakes and left the city. There are reports that an effort to avoid taxes nearly had the headquarters moving overseas.

According to financial giant Bloomberg News, the deal between Monsanto and a Swiss company are dead, at least for now but they’re quoting sources saying it’s at least possible that they could be revived.

The report says this was all an effort to avoid corporate taxes. Monsanto was considered buying the Swiss competitor, Syngenta, for about $34 billion dollars. The relocation would have allowed Monsanto to move its headquarters to Switzerland and avoid U.S. taxes on many of its assets that are there. The U.S. corporate tax rate is among the highest in the world.

The report says the deal is on the shelf for now. Monsanto refused to comment on the matter when contacted by Bloomberg.

It’s unclear how the move would have affected the headquarters in Creve Coeur. There would have been an impact, but much of the operation, which employs over 20,000 people, would likely have remained intact.

There are reports that the move might have been enough for congress to close that tax loophole but like so much of this story, there are a lot of “ifs.” The bottom line is the potential deal, at least for now, appears dead.